After the Public Works Department, PWD of Delhi, shared a social media post on its official X handle on Tuesday that showed labourers waist-deep in a stormwater drain while carrying out desilting work on a road in Northwest Delhi’s Rohini, it triggered massive backlash from various quarters of society.
The pictures depicted eight labourers at the site, out of which four were inside a drain to scoop out garbage and silt without wearing a proper T-shirt or safety gear like boots, gloves, or masks for protection. As per the PWD post, which had the Delhi CM and PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh also tagged, the labourers were working on road number 41A of Rohini.
The post now stands deleted, and a junior PWD engineer has been suspended. Asked about the PWD post depicting manual scavenging, a senior PWD official said, “Manual scavenging is when a worker enters a sewage which is filled with human waste… But PWD drains are stormwater drains which only carry rainwater. The department uses machines for desilting work. In these areas, machines cannot enter due to narrow lanes. Workers wearing proper safety gear are deployed.”
PWD’s Response
The PWD official also stated that he has taken cognizance of the picture posted on their social media handle and has taken appropriate action for the same, “We saw that workers were not wearing any safety gear… Not even gloves… Seeing the seriousness of the matter, we have placed the JE concerned under suspension and have also issued warning orders to all engineers in this regard… They’ve also been asked to ensure that the workers are equipped with proper gear.”
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta responded to the controversy generated after the social media post went viral and said that “every drain has its own situation. Machines don’t work everywhere and people don’t work everywhere… There may be places where machines can’t reach. Right now, the government’s target is to ensure all drains are completely cleaned. Work is being carried out with full attention to the court guidelines.”
Hitting out at the ruling BJP at the Centre, the AAP Delhi winner, Saurabh Bhardwaj, tagged the Delhi Police Commissioner in his post on social media platform X and alleged that manual scavenging is being carried out at the site despite being illegal in India. “The BJP government has always exploited Dalits and the poor. See how manual scavenging is being done. Legal action should be taken against them @CPDelhi,” said Bhardwaj.
Manual Scavenging Banned
Under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR), manual scavenging is banned in India. However, hundreds of manual scavengers have died in the past decade from inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning sewers and septic tanks. Sight of a manual scavenger entering sewer lines or stormwater drains is still common, even in uptown localities of metropolitans.
